# Question about Medico pipes



## Oudis (Oct 28, 2011)

Hi,

This is a very simple question –the famous Medico pipes, are they made of briar, another sort of cheaper wood, or are they brylon? Or it depends on the model?

Thanks everybody, have a good one,

Oudis.


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## Firedawg (Nov 8, 2010)

I am not sure famous is the right word, maybe infamous. If you are trying to save money get a Graybow which are in the same cost area. Much better pipe for the beginner and even ol timers. The medicos that I have seen are a brylon which is really thin on them and gets damn hot.


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## Stan41 (Sep 30, 2009)

Medico pipes are made from both materials; briar and brylon. The brylon pipes are marked Brylon. The briar pipes usually have lots of fills.
I used to smoke Medico briar pipes when I couldn't afford anything better. I didn't think they were all that bad. Never did like the Brylon though.
Stan


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## karatekyle (Nov 2, 2010)

Depends. Mostly briar, some brylons.


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## gg_godd (Nov 3, 2011)

whatever you do dont buy a brylon pipe, the are total junk, they could make the worlds finest blends smoke like hot nasty shat, a corn cob is a far better idea if you want something cheap


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

As mentioned, some Medicos are brylon and some are briar. I personally haven't smoked a Medico...but at around the same price point are Dr Grabows. I have two Grabows - an Omega and a Big Pipe. Sure, they've got a couple of fills, and the finish is starting to flake off of one of them a little, but they are both really great smokers! I think Grabows are pretty decent pipes for the money. I'm also a big fan of Missouri Meershcaum corncob pipes!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

The estate Medicos may be marginally superior to new ones, probably the older the better. This is merely a suspicion. Even the old Yello-Bowls made by the same company from the 60s are probably smokable. (Seems I had a Yello-Bowl once upon a time...) Maybe even the new briar Yello-Boles! Are the briar ones really so terrible? I'm almost tempted to buy one to find out. oops. They apparently don't make briar Yello-Bowls anymore.


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

Looky what I found, Jim - Yello-Bole Pipes


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

gahdzila said:


> Looky what I found, Jim - Yello-Bole Pipes


All brylon aren't they?


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## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

Most Grabow, Kaywoodie, Medico and Yello-Bole pipes are briar. To my knowledge, none of them used any other wood, so if it's not briar, it should be obvious. Any of those pipes should be serviceable smokers for you, but they may not be great. I have had great luck with the Kaywoodie Gold series ($50-60, if you can still find them) and the Supergrain. Grabows are probably next best of the drug store pipes (they even had a Falcon clone called the Viking, which isn't bad at all), followed by Yello-Bole and Medico. I think the value of estate Medicos is probably elevated because sellers, especially on eBay, don't seem willing to take less than $10 on a pipe. For that $10 (with a little patience and luck), you can get much better estate pipes than that. Look for GBD, BBB, Comoys, Savinelli, maybe even Stanwell. Most of those usually go for less than $50 regardless, and some slip through the cracks enough to sell for a song. I know most of that answer had nothing to do with the original question, but I wanted to address and expand on some of the posts that have come since.


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

TommyTree said:


> Most Grabow, Kaywoodie, Medico and Yello-Bole pipes are briar. To my knowledge, none of them used any other wood, so if it's not briar, it should be obvious. Any of those pipes should be serviceable smokers for you, but they may not be great. I have had great luck with the Kaywoodie Gold series ($50-60, if you can still find them) and the Supergrain. Grabows are probably next best of the drug store pipes (they even had a Falcon clone called the Viking, which isn't bad at all), followed by Yello-Bole and Medico. I think the value of estate Medicos is probably elevated because sellers, especially on eBay, don't seem willing to take less than $10 on a pipe. For that $10 (with a little patience and luck), you can get much better estate pipes than that. Look for GBD, BBB, Comoys, Savinelli, maybe even Stanwell. Most of those usually go for less than $50 regardless, and some slip through the cracks enough to sell for a song. I know most of that answer had nothing to do with the original question, but I wanted to address and expand on some of the posts that have come since.


This is good advice.

I'd add that it's often worth looking at no-name "Made in England" pipes on EBay. Even well restored you can find great deals on them. Some aren't great. But many are batches of pipes from a major manufacturer either flawed or just overstock. They get bought in bulk by smoke shops, who sell them as "basket pipes".

Also, if you do a little homework, there are specific pipe shops who have pipes made for them by big brands (Tinderbox comes to mind, over the last 50 years they've had pipes made by GBD, Comoy, and even Charatan--back when Charatan rivaled Dunhill in quality. . .Georgetown is another, they were made by GBD for a while). These named shop pipes can be had at fantastic bargains as well.

Of course, not ever Georgetown is a GBD. Take a close look at nomenclature and do some research!
This is the definitive site: English index - Pipes : Logos & Markings

Best, 
Dave


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

TommyTree said:


> Most Grabow, Kaywoodie, Medico and Yello-Bole pipes are briar. To my knowledge, none of them used any other wood, so if it's not briar, it should be obvious. Any of those pipes should be serviceable smokers for you, but they may not be great. I have had great luck with the Kaywoodie Gold series ($50-60, if you can still find them) and the Supergrain. Grabows are probably next best of the drug store pipes (they even had a Falcon clone called the Viking, which isn't bad at all), followed by Yello-Bole and Medico. I think the value of estate Medicos is probably elevated because sellers, especially on eBay, don't seem willing to take less than $10 on a pipe. For that $10 (with a little patience and luck), you can get much better estate pipes than that. Look for GBD, BBB, Comoys, Savinelli, maybe even Stanwell. Most of those usually go for less than $50 regardless, and some slip through the cracks enough to sell for a song. I know most of that answer had nothing to do with the original question, but I wanted to address and expand on some of the posts that have come since.


This is good advice.

I'd add that it's often worth looking at no-name "Made in England" pipes on EBay. Even well restored you can find great deals on them. Some aren't great. But many are batches of pipes from a major manufacturer either flawed or just overstock. They get bought in bulk by smoke shops, who sell them as "basket pipes".

Also, if you do a little homework, there are specific pipe shops who have pipes made for them by big brands (Tinderbox comes to mind, over the last 50 years they've had pipes made by GBD, Comoy, and even Charatan--back when Charatan rivaled Dunhill in quality. . .Georgetown is another, they were made by GBD for a while). These named shop pipes can be had at fantastic bargains as well.

Of course, not every Georgetown is a GBD. Take a close look at nomenclature and do some research!
This is the definitive site: English index - Pipes : Logos & Markings

Best, 
Dave


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

TommyTree said:


> Most Grabow, Kaywoodie, Medico and Yello-Bole pipes are briar.


I still don't see a briar Yello-Bowl, only brylon. They used to make them, but do they now?


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## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

CaptainEnormous said:


> I'd add that it's often worth looking at no-name "Made in England" pipes on EBay. Even well restored you can find great deals on them. Some aren't great. But many are batches of pipes from a major manufacturer either flawed or just overstock. They get bought in bulk by smoke shops, who sell them as "basket pipes".


I may have this wrong, but I believe anything labeled "Made in London, England," is supposed to have been made at one of the major English pipe factories. So while it may not say Dunhill or GBD, it may have originated there and not made the cut for some reason. Someone please verify or refute that I have that right.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

TommyTree said:


> I may have this wrong, but I believe anything labeled "Made in London, England," is supposed to have been made at one of the major English pipe factories. So while it may not say Dunhill or GBD, it may have originated there and not made the cut for some reason. Someone please verify or refute that I have that right.


Comoy's, Sasieni, Charatan, Dunhill, Parker(Dunhill), GBD, BBB and others were all made in London -- or at least England. Their seconds went out as basket pipes, for example, at Mincer's Pipe Shop in 1961, the basket pipes were sometimes Comoy's, sometimes GBDs or BBBS -- whatever was available. They generally said something like Made in England, Made in London or some such. $5. If I knew then what I know now...sigh.


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## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

freestoke said:


> Comoy's, Sasieni, Charatan, Dunhill, Parker(Dunhill), GBD, BBB and others were all made in London -- or at least England. Their seconds went out as basket pipes, for example, at Mincer's Pipe Shop in 1961, the basket pipes were sometimes Comoy's, sometimes GBDs or BBBS -- whatever was available. They generally said something like Made in England, Made in London or some such. $5. If I knew then what I know now...sigh.


That's the thing. The pipes from the big companies all say the same thing, and I think it has to be "London, England," not London or England alone, but I can't remember which one it is for sure. Damn my cluttered head!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

TommyTree said:


> That's the thing. The pipes from the big companies all say the same thing, and I think it has to be "London, England," not London or England alone, but I can't remember which one it is for sure. Damn my cluttered head!


Both "London Made" and "Made in England" are stamped on my Sasienis. Maybe the leave off the "London Made" part for seconds?


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## Oudis (Oct 28, 2011)

Thanks to everybody for taking the trouble to answer; I’m glad because my question –such a simple one– was the excuse for a very interesting exchange of opinions and information. I didn’t get the Medico pipe and bought a slightly more expensive briar pipe instead; a new one. It’s a present for a friend in fact (I didn’t want to give him a brylon pipe, that’s why I asked in the first place). 

By the way: many no-name things, not only pipes, are worth buying. 

Take it easy,

Oudis.


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## TommyTree (Jan 7, 2012)

freestoke said:


> Both "London Made" and "Made in England" are stamped on my Sasienis. Maybe the leave off the "London Made" part for seconds?


Now that might make sense. If they're made by a small shop or a carver, they'd be stamped for the city and country, but if they're made at a large factory, they might be made at several sites, depending on the equipment, so you can only list the country... I am really overthinking this now. Fact is that England, Denmark and Italy are probably the best pipe carving countries out there, and any pipe from any of them has a great chance of being a good smoker.


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